Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

The challenge, brought by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., targets the rule allowing the federal government to pay part of the health insurance premiums for lawmakers and some staffers.

The Washington Post: 38 GOP Lawmakers Join Ron Johnson’s Obamacare Lawsuit
Thirty-eight Republican lawmakers are signaling support for a lawsuit filed by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) that challenges a rule by the Obama administration allowing the federal government to subsidize health insurance for lawmakers and some congressional staffers. With the health care law exceeding enrollment expectations and legislative attempts to undo the law failing to advance beyond the GOP-controlled House, Johnson's lawsuit is one of the few other attempts underway to chip away at the law (O’Keefe, 4/22).

CQ: Lawmakers Back Senator’s Suit Targeting OPM Exchange Rule
Thirty-eight senators and House members have filed a brief backing a legal challenge to an Office of Personnel Management rule that interprets the health law as continuing employer sponsored coverage for members of Congress and their staffs with the start of insurance exchanges last fall. The OPM rule is a part of a series of unlawful actions by the Obama administration revising or ignoring provisions of the overhaul and it’s up to the courts to intervene, states the friend-of-the-court brief signed by a dozen GOP senators including John McCain of Arizona and Ted Cruz of Texas. Twenty-six House Republicans also joined in filing the brief (Reichard, 4/22).

Fox News: 38 GOP Lawmakers Join Lawsuit Against Obamacare Subsidies
Thirty-eight Republican lawmakers are backing a lawsuit filed by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., challenging health insurance subsidies provided to lawmakers and their staffers who are required to obtain coverage under Obamacare. Johnson filed the lawsuit in January challenging a ruling by the Office of Personnel Management. The agency ruled that lawmakers and their staffs should continue to receive health care benefits covering about 75 percent of their premium costs after leaving the health insurance program for federal workers (4/23).

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